Fortnite streamer NICKMERCS reaches 1 million followers on Twitch

Popular streamer Nick “NICKMERCS” Kolcheff has hit a major milestone, reaching the one million follower mark on video game streaming website Twitch after years of live streaming.

NICKMERCS first found fame as a professional Gears of War player, before turning his attention to streaming full-time. He grew his audience throughout 2016 and 2017 playing Call of Duty, while also competing in Black Ops III and Modern Warfare tournaments. However, he has seen his following boom over the last 12 months after turning his attention to Epic Games’ hugely popular battle royale title, Fortnite.

The Fortnite scene has become increasingly saturated in recent months as interest in the title grew. However, NICKMERCS managed to stand out with his aggressive style of play.

NICKMERCS took to Twitter to celebrate, telling his followers “1 MILLION FOLLOWERS ON TWITCH! Let’s go baby!”

Despite reaching the feat, he does not rank in the top 100 for Twitch views. Riot Games, the creator of League of Legends, recently became the first channel to reach 1 billion channel views.

The rise of Fortnite esports

NICKMERCS is still some way off of matching the biggest names in Twitch and esports. Fellow Fortnite player Tyler “Ninja” Blevins is currently the most followed person on Twitch with 8.9m followers.

Many of the biggest names on Twitch are currently streaming Fortnite. Viewing figures for Fortnite streams dwarf other titles.

The likes of Faker and Bjergsen, two of the best players in competitive League of Legends, have 1.4m followers each. This highlights just how popular Fortnite has become among esports fans in such a short space of time.

With Epic Games having pledged to invest $100m in Fortnite esports over the next 12 months, the battle royale game offer plenty of promise for the future.